Cabinet ministers tried to rally round Theresa May last night after she struggled through the most difficult and dramatic speech of her political career.

The Prime Minister had wanted to use her set-piece speech to the Tory conference to launch a political fightback and drag the party on to the front foot after weeks of infighting.

But it became an extraordinary personal ordeal after she was interrupted and handed a P45 by a prankster, hit by a coughing fit so severe she temporarily lost her voice and then left embarrassed as parts of the set collapsed behind her.

Theresa May suffered constant coughing as she endured an agonising 65 minutes on the stage at the Tory party conference

Last night, Mrs May’s performance alarmed some backbenchers and set off a fresh wave of speculation about her future, with one former minister labelling the speech ‘an absolute disaster’. Another MP said: ‘She’s in danger of becoming a figure of pity. That is fatal for a Prime Minister.’

But publicly, senior Tory figures rallied round, with a senior source revealing that Mrs May had also received private messages of support from a string of Cabinet ministers.

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And Tory MP Mark Pritchard delivered a firm rebuttal to the plotters he revealed had been sounding out colleagues by phone and text to gauge support for a coup.

‘For the small number of MPs texting MPs asking what we thought of the PM’s speech (or circling above) I have one message: there is no vacancy at Number 10!’, he said.

Mrs May’s speech had begun with a heartfelt apology to Tory activists for the ‘too scripted, too presidential’ election campaign.

Theresa May's make-or-break speech was interrupted by prankster Simon Brodkin, who tried to give her a P45 and said: 'Boris Johnson made me do it'

But disaster struck 22 minutes in when prankster Simon Brodkin calmly walked up to the podium and handed her a mock P45, saying: ‘Boris asked me to give you this.’ A major security investigation was under way last night into how Brodkin got so close to the PM and why it took two minutes to bundle him out of the conference hall, where he was arrested.

Mrs May reacted calmly, taking the piece of paper from Brodkin and placing it on the floor while the Cabinet sat and watched just yards away.

But the incident knocked her off her stride and set off a violent coughing fit that threatened to cut short her appearance. Delegates and ministers looked on aghast as the PM repeatedly succumbed to the cough she has been nursing all week.

Mrs May’s deputy Damian Green and Home Secretary Amber Rudd sat with their heads in their hands at times, eyes closed during the excruciating interruptions.

During the PM's constant coughing, Home Secretary Amber Rudd sat with her head in her hands, with eyes closed during the excruciating interruptions

As she choked to a halt, activists gave her a standing ovation to give aides time to bring her more water. Chancellor Philip Hammond even handed her a cough sweet. But the coughing continued throughout the remaining 40 minutes of the speech, leaving some to fear that she may be unable to complete her speech. To add to the misery, parts of the set began to collapse behind the PM, with the letter F – and then later the letter E – dropping off the conference slogan: ‘Building a country that works for everyone.’

The dramatic events overshadowed the contents of a speech in which Mrs May tried to heal the wounds left over by the loss of the Tory majority in June’s snap election. She unveiled a string of policies on housing, energy and foreign aid designed to show she is listening to voters’ concerns.

In a highly personal speech she spoke of her ‘great sadness’ that she had never had children. And she talked about her determination to rebuild the ‘British dream’, including a revival of home ownership.

But those watching were transfixed by the sight of Mrs May struggling to get her words out in a speech in which, ironically, she pledged to give ‘voice to the voiceless’. When she finally finished her hour-long address she received a standing ovation from activists and was joined on stage by husband Philip for an emotional hug.

Last night, the PM tried to make light of her misfortune, posting a picture of packets of throat sweets and cough medicine next to her ministerial red box with the caption: ‘Cough'

Last night, the PM tried to make light of her misfortune, posting a picture of packets of throat sweets and cough medicine next to her ministerial red box with the caption: ‘Cough’.

But Downing Street insiders were aghast at the way the vital speech turned into a presentational disaster.

Publicly, ministers rallied round. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said it would become ‘one of the more famous coughs in history’. He added: ‘Her sense of duty shone through – in between the coughing.’

And Justice Secretary David Lidington said: ‘Most people out in the real world outside this hall have to get up and go to work and cope with a sore throat and cold from time to time and that’s what they do in their lives. And they see their Prime Minister like them getting on with the job, not being deflected from her purpose.’

But privately some ministers feared that Mrs May’s failing voice was a metaphor for her struggling political authority. One minister said: ‘She has to go – we’re all doomed.’

Another insider said Mrs May appeared to be ‘cursed’, adding: ‘Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong. Why did the letters – which have been up there all week – suddenly start falling down. It is just horrendous bad luck.’

One former minister said: ‘The speech was an absolute disaster. It has shifted the dial. People who previously thought she should stay until 2019 are saying we can’t go on like this.’

Some Tories rounded on Mrs May’s aides after No 10 revealed she had spoken at almost 20 receptions and a similar number of media interviews during the four-day conference, despite nursing a heavy cold. ‘Why didn’t they protect her?’ said one MP.